Consolidated List of Boberg Compatible 9mm Ammunition

Boberg's patented loading design is great for us and helps us by squeezing a longer barrel into a smaller package but some ammo that isn't manufactured up to specs may cause problems. I don't consider this a flaw of the gun but rather a flaw in the ammo - You can't expect to put cheap tires on a Ferrari and still expect it to go 0 to 60 in 3 seconds.

The problem has been separation of the bullet from the casing because of inadequate crimping by the bullet manufacturer (remember most guns PUSH the next round into the barrel and thus don't have problems with bad crimps. The Boberg PULLS then PUSHES the next round into place.) Plated ammunition is generally not able to be crimped very well. The lead is too soft for the case mouth to get any decent tension on the bullet. Full metal jacket or hollowpoint ammo, however, had a solid foundation for the case mouth to create tension during crimping.

I will update the list as people post more of their experiences - please try to be as specific as possible regarding Manufacturer, model, grain, FMJ/JHP, flat/round nose, etc. All manufacturers are constantly updating manufacturing procedures when they identify deficiencies. For failed ammo, if you can identify roughly when ammo was purchased, this info will be posted so as to not permanently blacklist any particular brand/model of ammo. For me, however, I personally would not want to carry any ammo with questionable reliability in my gun as my life may depend on it in the future.

So from the posts I've seen so far and squinting at hard to read pics of boxes, here is the current list. I have chosen to put all ammo with any reproducible issues in the incompatible list but some of these may still usable for practice or with swapping the trigger spring for a heavier one. I would personally avoid regularly shooting ammo that separates because it is a pain to clean out and the loose gunpowder flies right into your face. Regarding separation malfunctions, Arne is working on a 4.2" barrel that significantly reduces separations in case you want to use a particular ammo that has light crimps.

Disclaimer: Boberg Arms does not officially recommend any type of ammunition, nor does it guarantee the performance of any particular type of ammunition since we do not control the manufacturing of ammunition. We highly recommend that you test-fire ammunition at the range before carrying it for self-defense.

Rats! I just ordered 250 rounds of Speer Lawman FMJ for practice. Jason, were you using 115, 124, or 147gr in the Lawman? Also, would be curious to know which round in the firing sequence failed? Thanks for the info...bummer though.

Jason Joice said:

I would say Speer Lawman FMJ is NOT compatible. I had 2 bullet/brass separations in a single 50 round box.

So with more Bobergs in people's hands, it seems as if poor crimps are starting to pop up among certain types of ammo. A quick search shows this knowledgeable post on thefirearmsforum.com:

Guns that treat the ammunition in the gun violently, through heavy recoil or rough handling during chambering, need a good crimp. Guns that hold the ammo in a loading tube in the gun, end to end, need a good crimp. Typically all semi-auto guns, most lever guns, and pump guns need a crimp. There may be others but the test is the above where the results of poor bullet retention can end up with either the bullet falling out of the cartridge case in the gun or being pushed into the case. While both situations are not good, the latter can be dangerous as the pressures rise as the receding bullet reduces the volume in the case. It is a definite safety issue with either case. It never hurts to crimp a bullet into a cartridge case but it has to be done the correct way.

This poster points out the bad aspects of the bullet being too far out of the case or too far into the case. I guess I never though about poorly crimped bullets changing their position in a cartridge due to rough handling or strong recoil. This would also account for varying dimensions of bullets within a case - if the bullet is not uniformly seated in the cartridge due to a bad crimp or just sloppy assembly - the shooter would get inconsistency on bullet velocity and accuracy (I recall some other poster commenting on varying bullet lengths in a case of ammo).

Do any reloaders here have any experience with tools to recrimp factory ammo in case we carry around a magazine that we want to know 100% will go "bang" if necessary? Or.... are we just asking for trouble to try and recrimp ammo with the chance that we'll deform the cartridge and cause more jams?

I saw in the photo of test ammo boxes that Arne has posted a box of Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ.

I'd be interested to know if Arne has had issues with this particular ammo type during testing. Of interest here is this claim from Speer regarding the intergrity of this product: "Uni cor construction virtually eliminates core/jacket separation, the main reason for bullet failure with conventional cup and core bullets." Hmmm...maybe not so much?

I've done a lot of reading on the various forums on Speer particulary on the Gold Dot 124gr +P and the Lawman and have never read anything negative. I don't have personal experience with either, but up until now I had pretty high expectations. Hopefully, Jason's experience was just a fluke.

Have any other current XR9 owners had bad experiences with Speer?

Jason Joice said:

I would say Speer Lawman FMJ is NOT compatible. I had 2 bullet/brass separations in a single 50 round box.

I too was surprised that someone had a problem with Speer Lawman. Speer tends to have a good reputation and they can command a higher price because of it. Keep in mind that Lawman is Speer's "value" model and they must cut some corners to make it cheaper. I am not aware of any other mainstream 9mm gun that uses the unique Boberg feed mechanism so if Lawman's crimp was always a problem, I don't see how it would have become obvious.

The quote you listed about uni cor construction doesn't apply to this bullet/casing separation due to weak crimp. That statement refers to the lead core and copper jacket separation that can occur within the bullet tip itself.

Conan

Kirk F. Davis said:

I saw in the photo of test ammo boxes that Arne has posted a box of Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ.

I'd be interested to know if Arne has had issues with this particular ammo type during testing. Of interest here is this claim from Speer regarding the intergrity of this product: "Uni cor construction virtually eliminates core/jacket separation, the main reason for bullet failure with conventional cup and core bullets." Hmmm...maybe not so much?

I've done a lot of reading on the various forums on Speer particulary on the Gold Dot 124gr +P and the Lawman and have never read anything negative. I don't have personal experience with either, but up until now I had pretty high expectations. Hopefully, Jason's experience was just a fluke.

Have any other current XR9 owners had bad experiences with Speer?

Jason Joice said:

I would say Speer Lawman FMJ is NOT compatible. I had 2 bullet/brass separations in a single 50 round box.

Thanks for the clarification on that quote Conan. I would still be interested to know if Arne experienced the same problem when he tested the Speer 124gr Lawman FMJ.

Brokedoc said:

I too was surprised that someone had a problem with Speer Lawman. Speer tends to have a good reputation and they can command a higher price because of it. Keep in mind that Lawman is Speer's "value" model and they must cut some corners to make it cheaper. I am not aware of any other mainstream 9mm gun that uses the unique Boberg feed mechanism so if Lawman's crimp was always a problem, I don't see how it would have become obvious.

The quote you listed about uni cor construction doesn't apply to this bullet/casing separation due to weak crimp. That statement refers to the lead core and copper jacket separation that can occur within the bullet tip itself.

Conan

Kirk F. Davis said:

I saw in the photo of test ammo boxes that Arne has posted a box of Speer Lawman 124gr FMJ.

I'd be interested to know if Arne has had issues with this particular ammo type during testing. Of interest here is this claim from Speer regarding the intergrity of this product: "Uni cor construction virtually eliminates core/jacket separation, the main reason for bullet failure with conventional cup and core bullets." Hmmm...maybe not so much?

I've done a lot of reading on the various forums on Speer particulary on the Gold Dot 124gr +P and the Lawman and have never read anything negative. I don't have personal experience with either, but up until now I had pretty high expectations. Hopefully, Jason's experience was just a fluke.

Have any other current XR9 owners had bad experiences with Speer?

Jason Joice said:

I would say Speer Lawman FMJ is NOT compatible. I had 2 bullet/brass separations in a single 50 round box.

Actually, I did have a separation with Speer Lawman about a year ago. I had since made some improvements in softening the rearward acceleration and had forgotten about it. Also, I believe I had thought it to be an anomaly in their QC. Now I'm thinking that this is Speer's equivalent to Federal Champion.

Do any reloaders here have any experience with tools to recrimp factory ammo in case we carry around a magazine that we want to know 100% will go "bang" if necessary? Or.... are we just asking for trouble to try and recrimp ammo with the chance that we'll deform the cartridge and cause more jams?